The Stream, July 1, 2021: Brazil Bans Outdoor Fires To Curb Deforestation In Amazon

YOUR GLOBAL RUNDOWN

• Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro bans outdoor fires ahead of the burning season in the Amazon rainforest.
• Several thousand residents in one remote West Virginia county are still waiting for clean water.
• Water supplies in Mumbai will last for more than two months, a drastically different scenario from last year.
• Lake Erie is projected to have mild algal blooms for the second year in a row.

A new report finds water in and around Yellowstone National Park in the United States is scarce.

“Climate is going to challenge our economies and the health of all people who live here.” – Cathy Whitlock, a Montana State University paleoclimatologist. A newly released climate assessment found that climate change, especially water scarcity, is affecting the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. PBS reports that the report warns communities around the United States’ first national park must devise plans to mitigate the impacts of drought, declining snowpack and seasonal shifts in water availability.

IN RECENT WATER NEWS

In Case You Missed It:

In Chicago, Flooding Overwhelmingly Strikes Communities of Color – Chicago’s leaders have poured billions into ambitious programs to keep water away from roads and buildings. But urban flooding continues – overwhelmingly in communities of color – forcing experts to turn to new solutions.

HotSpots H2O: Anishinaabe Activists and Allies Resist Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline, a Project that Threatens Wetlands and Ignores Treaty Territory – In northern Minnesota, the new Line 3 corridor cuts directly through wetlands and waterways that are already struggling in unusually dry conditions. The pipeline also infringes upon centuries-old tribal treaty rights, and runs near, and sometimes through, reservation lines, water crossings, and state forests.

Brazil’s Bolsonaro Bans Outdoor Fires Ahead of Amazonian Burning Season

Amid the country’s worst drought in decades, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro issued a broad 120-day ban on unauthorized outdoor fires. Reuters reports that the move comes ahead of the annual burning season in the Amazon rainforest in an attempt to cut down on deforestation. With many parts of the Amazon recording drier weather, scientists are warning that the risk for fires is greater this year.

TODAY’S TOP WATER STORIES, TOLD IN NUMBERS

8800 RESIDENTS

Estimates suggest that up to 8,880 residents in McDowell County, West Virginia, have trouble with their water or sewer systems. The Washington Post reports that families living in McDowell regularly collect water in bottles, tanks or gallon jugs, hauling it sometimes miles back to their homes. Solutions to the area’s water woes are complex and require a combination of money, skill, and workers.

17.44 PERCENT

Water levels in the seven lakes that supply drinking water to Mumbai, India, are at 17.44 percent capacity and will last for the next 65 days, the Hindustan Times reports. One Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official said that there may not be a need for water cuts this summer. In 2020 and 2019, water levels for the lakes were at eight and six percent, respectively.

ON THE RADAR

The Detroit Free Press reports that Lake Erie is projected to have a second straight summer with a relatively mild algal bloom. Scientists say this has little to do with reduced fertilizer loads in the lake and more to do with lower flows in the Maumee River Watershed this year. Phosphorous loads in the watershed, a massive agricultural area and a key nutrient-loading tributary to western Lake Erie, are still nowhere near targeted reduction goals.

• In context: Binational Lake Erie Phosphorus Targets Proposed to Curb Algae

Jane Johnston

Jane is a Communications Associate for Circle of Blue. She writes The Stream and has covered domestic and international water issues for Circle of Blue. She is a recent graduate of Grand Valley State University, where she studied Multimedia Journalism and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. During her time at Grand Valley, she was the host of the Community Service Learning Center podcast Be the Change. Currently based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Jane enjoys listening to music, reading and spending time outdoors.